Franklin Milton Davis Jr. (July 19, 1918 – May 4, 1981) was an author and major general in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Early life and education

General Davis was born in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area no ...

, and raised in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

. He earned a A.B. in Economics/English from Massachusetts State College in 1940. Davis was commissioned as a second lieutenant of cavalry through the

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

program on June 10, 1940. He reported for active duty with the 3rd U.S. Cavalry at

Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army Military base, post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and ...

, Virginia on July 5, 1940. Davis transferred to the Regular Army on February 20, 1942, and graduated from the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

in January 1944. He later graduated from the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

in January 1958 and the Army War College in June 1960. Davis received an M.A. degree in International Affairs from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1963.

Military

Davis had military participation in both

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Between wars, he commanded the 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Armored Division in Europe from July 1951 to June 1952. Davis served as a brigadier general during the Vietnam War and commanded the 199th Light Infantry Brigade from May 1968 to July 1969. Davis' brigade operated in the Long Binh and Duc Hoa regions of Vietnam. While in Vietnam, Davis was wounded in action (WIA). Davis received a temporary promotion to major general on June 1, 1970, which was made permanent on April 5, 1971. He was a commandant of the

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a United States Army, U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle B ...

from 1971 to 1974, when he retired from active duty. Davis's principal awards and decorations included two Distinguished Service Medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two awards of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

and the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

with V for Valor. His wartime service included three major campaigns in World War II in Europe, and four in the war in Vietnam.

Transcendental Meditation

Davis was a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation and advocated its use to reduce the stress of soldiers. He was also a founding member of the board of trustees at Maharishi International University (MIU) (now called

Maharishi University of Management Maharishi International University (MIU), formerly Maharishi University of Management, is a private university in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1971 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and practices a "consciousness-based education" syst ...

). At MIU, General Davis was also an International Resource Faculty member for the United States in Military Science.

Writing

In 1950, Davis wrote for a contest that was designed to "stimulate creative writing among ilitarypersonnel during their off-duty time."Omaha World Herald, April 28, 1950. ''Three Majors Winners in Army Story Contest''.
/ref> He was among three winners of the Army-wide writing contest. One of the prizes for the honor was to be published in ''

Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

'' magazine. Davis wrote books of fiction and historical nonfiction. Two of his early books were published with his military rank attached to his name: "Col. Franklin M. Davis Jr.": * ''Kiss the Tiger'', (A Quinn Leland Espionage Thriller) Pyramid Books, 1961 * ''The U.S. Army Engineers—Fighting Elite'', Franklin Watts, 1967 Davis' books published without rank are: * The Naked and the Lost, Lion, 1954. Subject is the Korean War, 1950–1953 * ''Spearhead'', Permabook, 1957. Subject 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead) during World War II. * ''A Medal For Frankie'', Pocket Books,''Springfield Union'', July 24, 1960, p. 56. ''Pocket Books''.
/ref> 1959. 35 cents. * ''Break Through'', 1961 * ''Bamboo Camp #10'', 1962 * ''Secret Hong Kong'' (A Quinn Leland Espionage Thriller), 1962 * ''Combat! The Counterattack'', (Illustrated by Arnie Kohn), 1964 * ''Come As a Conqueror'', (The United States Army's Occupation of Germany 1945–1949. Nonfiction), 1967 * ''Across the Rhine'' (Time Life, World War II Collector's Edition), 1980

Personal

Davis married Erma Stuart Alvord (September 17, 1918 – August 28, 2003) at

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

, Georgia on July 18, 1942. They had two sons and three grandchildren. Their eldest son, First Lieutenant Stephen Winfield Davis (November 6, 1943 – August 18, 1967), was killed in action in Vietnam. General Davis had arrived in Vietnam for the first time only two weeks before and accompanied the body back to the United States for burial. Davis and his wife lived in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. He died from cancer at the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...

in Washington, D.C. at age 62. After his death, his wife moved to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

to be closer to their younger son and his family. Davis is buried alongside his wife and eldest son at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Franklin M. Jr. 1918 births 1981 deaths People from Malden, Massachusetts People from Waltham, Massachusetts University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Elliott School of International Affairs alumni United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) American thriller writers American military historians American military writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American historians American male novelists American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers Military personnel from Arlington County, Virginia Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery